CACTI 17 



in the selection of perfectly symmetrical plants with well-developed 

 spines and some taste in arrangement, a compact group may be built 

 up which will make an excellent ornament for the table or window 

 and can easily be moved to any place desired. In the diversity of 

 designs which may be followed there is a wide range of possibilities, 

 ornamental pots or boxes lending an artistic touch to the composition, 



PLANTINGS IN OPEN GROUND 



Cactus roots naturally penetrate deeply into the soil, and at the 

 same time some of them spread widely from the plant stem. This 

 tendency is necessarily limited in potted plants, and the plant does 

 not receive the nourishment or water that it should have ; hence it is 

 always better to place them in the open ground if possible. In the 

 Northern States it is necessary that the plants be protected from cold 

 in winter. In such localities a room in a greenhouse may be set 

 aside for this group of plants and beds made in the native earth to 

 receive them. Here they may be placed close together, as they shade 

 one another very little and do not have the abundant foliage of other 

 plants. The roots may intermingle, but with no great detriment, 

 since the main feeding roots penetrate deep down into the soil. Fur- 

 thermore, cactus plants need comparatively little nourishment, and it 

 would require a long time to exhaust the soil. An effective arrange- 

 ment is to build up rocks and soil, leaving the surface more or less 

 covered with rocks, making a genuine rockery. (PI. 15, A.) This 

 treatment lends a natural aspect to the surroundings and furthermore 

 adds a greater degree of drainage, so necessary to cacti at all times. 



Cacti may be used as good decorative plants in outdoor beds, 

 planted either permanently (pi. 15, B) or temporarily (pi, 16, A 

 and B). Where one has a number of individual potted plants that 

 have to be housed for protection in the winter season it is always 

 desirable that they be placed in the open during the summer months. 

 They should be taken out as soon as all danger from frost is past and 

 left till danger threatens in the fall. The beds should be either high 

 or on a sloping surface, to insure thorough drainage about the plants, 

 With such plants it is better to leave them potted and plunge the 

 pots into the soil. Plants thus exposed to the sunshine and rain 

 during the summer months will do far better than those kept indoors 

 and given house treatment. A judicious arranging of the plants in 

 such beds will have an attractive and pleasing effect. Where a large 

 number of individuals of a few species are available, some artistic 

 designs may be worked out in these summer beds, as shown in 

 Plate 16. 



In the warmer southern or southwestern portions of the United 

 States a very large number of cacti will thrive out of doors the year 

 round. In such localities the possibilities for bed planting have 

 a much wider range. More area may be given to them there than 

 would be possible in the conservatories of the North. They will 

 require greater space, because plants that grow in the open thrive 

 much better than potted ones and consequently branch and spread 

 over a greater area. In such localities, with plenty of room, it is 

 possible to produce decidedly realistic landscape effects. Especially 

 is this true in parks (pi. 15, B), where the semiarid character of the 



41382°— 29 2 



